The Plan
by myscout14
Summary: While the riders are away, the Outcasts will play. The Outcasts take Berk while all the riders but Hiccup are gone! Toothless and the entire village have been captured, but Hiccup got away. Now it is up to the riders and a newly dragonless Hiccup to save their village, and quite possibly their own lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey lovely readers, guess who's back?! That's right, me . Get ready for lots of twists and turns and a special thing, I'll take suggestions as to what y'all want to have happen. For my TMNT lovers, I am working on another story for that as well. I just thought I'd try another fandom while I was at it. If y'all don't like this, feel free to tell me so, and I'll try and fix it. As always, leave a review and keep being awesome my lovely readers! **

Hiccup paced back and forth nervously. A loud roar broke the quiet, and he drew to a halt, and turned to face the sea. He was standing on one of the many cliffs of Berk, overlooking the small town and the sea. The wind whipped around him, and crumbling rocks and dirt periodically fell off the ledge and tumbled into the sheep pasture far below. His long, dark hair whipped around his face, and his usually smiling face was warped into a worried frown. He was alone.

Another roar shook the cliff, and he winced.

"C'mon, guys, where are you?" he muttered, running his hands through his hair.

Suddenly, a speck appeared on the horizon. It hurtled quickly towards the island and began to take shape as it moved closer, far too fast for a boat. It wasn't long until he was able to make out the rough outline of a large, blue, lizard like creature with wings and a spiked tail extending far out behind it, Astrid's dragon, Stormfly. It wasn't until the creature was soaring over the village that Hiccup let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. Sitting upon Stormfly's back was a familiar, blonde girl.

"Astrid!" he yelled, waving his arms, "Over here!"

The dragon changed course and landed heavily next to him on the ledge. More rocks tumbled into the pasture below. Astrid threw herself over the side of her dragon and ran to Hiccup. She wrapped him in a tight hug before pulling back and looking at him in concern.

"Oh thank Thor you're all right. Trader Johann came by and said that the Outcasts had the island, and then as I was flying I didn't see anyone and the town was deserted, and I thought… oh gods, I thought everyone was dead!" she rushed out.

"They're not dead; Alvin has everyone on the other side of the island. I don't know where. Where are the others? I thought you would bring all the riders?" he asked worriedly.

"They're coming, they had to help the other islanders recover from the storm. I don't think they believed Trader Johann. Snotlout told everyone he was just a crazed old lunatic. I believed him though," she fumed.

She had been facing towards the sea, but as she said this she turned and looked back at Hiccup. She couldn't imagine what he had gone through. Toothless hadn't been well, so Hiccup had decided to stay on Berk and help run the island instead of go to the nearby island of Wepper which had recently been hit by a storm. The other riders had left to help. While they had been on Wepper, Trader Johann had come to port terrified and telling tales of Outcasts invading Berk. He had quickly collapsed. The others had dismissed him as crazy, but Astrid had felt certain something was wrong. Now that she was here, she knew she had been right.

She studied Hiccup. He had a long cut along the side of his face, and his vest was torn. He looked exhausted, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. As he shifted his weight, she noticed that he was favoring his metal foot over his real one. Suddenly she realized something else was missing.

"Hiccup, where's Toothless?" she asked.

"With the villagers. Someone needed to protect them, and I couldn't get to him in time. We couldn't fly away," he said sullenly.

"It's okay, we'll get him back!" she said, trying to cheer him up.

"Well, first we need a plan," he replied.

"You mean you don't have one already?" she asked in surprise.

Hiccup always had a plan, always. Astrid began to grow nervous, even more than she already was. A little voice in her head whispered that something was wrong with Hiccup. His eyes, as well as looking haunted, were slightly dazed and vacant.

"Astrid, I barely got away with my life, excuse me for not being quite on top of things. It's been a rough couple of days!" he muttered.

He turned and began to limp away from the ledge and towards the tree line. Astrid followed him in confusion; nothing was making sense. Stormfly ambled up behind her and gently nudged her with her snout, as if to say "It's okay." Astrid reached out and rubbed the beautiful dragon's neck as she slowly followed Hiccup into the forest.

"What happened here, girl?" she whispered.

They walked until they were far enough into the forest to be hidden, but close enough to the edge to see the sea. Once they reached this point, Hiccup turned abruptly and followed a makeshift path through the trees until they reached what looked to be a small camp. There was a blanket on the ground next to a smoldering campfire. Wood had been stacked off to the side, and an ax hung on a broken tree branch. A pot sat next to the fire, but there was no food or water or other supplies to be seen.

Hiccup took a step forward, spun around, and stretched his arms out wide. A goofy grin stretched across his face for a moment as he gestured to the small camp, but his eyes were still dull, the smile not quite reaching them.

"Welcome to Camp Hiccup! As you can see, we have all the comforts of home situated in a rustic outdoor setting. Ah, I believe this is your room, Miss," he joked, leading her to the blanket on the ground.

Astrid looked at the small camp in shock, but she couldn't hold back a small laugh at Hiccup's jokes. Astrid sat down on the dry pine needles that carpeted the forest floor next to the fire while Stormfly curled up next to her, exhausted from the long and strenuous flight. Hiccup rummaged around in the brush on the outskirts of the camp before coming back with a pack. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, and the shadows were growing darker and longer.

"Where was that?" Astrid asked in surprise as Hiccup dumped the pack unceremoniously on the ground.

"Around. I needed to keep it cool. Stormfly, could you light the fire please?" he replied, without really answering the question.

Stormfly quickly obliged, and soon a crackling fire was the only source of light and heat. As soon as darkness fell, the temperature had plummeted. Astrid watched Hiccup curiously as he began to bring various pieces of something out of the pack. The three packages were of different sizes, but all roughly the same shape and wrapped in cloth. Hiccup unwrapped them carefully, stuck two on some nearby sticks, and chucked the last at Stormfly, who gulped it down greedily. Hiccup walked unsteadily over to Astrid and handed her one of the newly made kabobs as he plopped down next to her. He immediately stretched his stick out into the fire. Astrid watched him and quickly followed suit. As the smell of the cooking stuff wafted towards her, her stomach grumbled. She smiled as she realized what was for dinner.

"Fish? How did you get fish?" she asked incredulously.

"I was picking some up for Toothless when the attack started. When my dad told me to run, I was still holding the pack, that Thor. Otherwise, I would have starved. I can't hunt, and the Outcasts raided the storehouse. There would have been nothing for me to eat," he explained shaking his head.

"Oh. So what exactly did happen?" she asked.

Stormfly shrieked, questioning Hiccup as well.

"Where to begin?" he asked himself as he looked at the flames.

Astrid shivered as the bone chilling cold began to set in. Hiccup broke out of his trance and immediately got up and grabbed the blanket. Walking back over to her, he draped it around her shoulders and sat down again. He gave her a weak smile.

"It gets cold up here, sorry," he said with a shrug.

"No, no it's okay. I'm fine. Are you cold?" she asked, studying him; something was definitely wrong.

"Nah, I'm used to it."

"But-"

"Used to it. Anyways, Outcasts, invasion. People taken captured," he said, changing the subject, "It was pretty much a normal day. Trader Johann had just arrived, and everyone was in that oh-my-gods-there's-new-stuff-from-far-away-for-me-to-buy frenzy. You know how it is."

"Yep," she chuckled.

"Well, anyways, the guards left their posts to come see Johann, and no one was really doing their job. Which was fine, I guess, I mean it happens every time something big happens, but then-" he broke off here with a wince and gave a loud cough before continuing, "then Bucket came flying down through the town at break neck speed yelling about ships on the horizon. Gobber went to calm him down, but he just wouldn't listen, so Gobber went up to the guard tower to show him that there were no ships. Except, there were ships, lots of them. Everyone started running and yelling and it was the kind of chaos I haven't seen since the dragons were attacking us."

Stormfly gave a loud humph and twitched her tail irritably at this.

"Sorry, since _we _attacked the dragons," amended Hiccup with an eye roll.

"Then what?" Astrid asked, worried that people were hurt because she hadn't been there to help protect them.

"Well, we managed to get slightly organized before they hit, but it was too late. Johann was out of here the moment the ships were sighted, by the way. When the Outcasts landed on the shore, there was a battle, and we were holding our own until they let loose two Nadder. They wreaked havoc, and as everyone fled, the Outcasts began herding them all into the Great Hall. No one stood a chance after that. Toothless was too far away for me to get to during all this; it only took an hour. Preparation, I had to help find weapons; battle, I fought; dragons, I tried to calm them. One knocked me with its tail, and I went flying. I hit a house and lost consciousness. When I came to, everyone was gone except for a few last stragglers. Dad was being escorted up to the Great Hall by Alvin himself. He saw me, and he told me to run. As soon as the troops were gone, I did. I grabbed a blanket off the ground, and old pot, I already had knives and the ax, and, of course, the fish. I've been hiding up here ever since."

Astrid sat in shock. Her fish had long since been removed from the fire, but it sat untouched in front of her as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. Everyone was captured. Everyone she knew and loved was gone. She shuddered, and an overwhelming feeling of guilt settled over her. _I should have been here. I could've helped._ She thought bitterly.

"Did anyone else escape?" she asked, others had to have gotten away.

"I'm sure, but I haven't found them yet. I've looked. I haven't found them though. That's how I hurt my leg, fell out of a tree while searching," he said, shaking his head in embarrassment.

"You klutz. How long have you been out here?" she asked suddenly, reality finally beginning to set in.

"Three days," he said nonchalantly.

Astrid blanched. He'd been out here, on his own, with almost no food for three days. He didn't know if anyone was coming for help, or if the villagers were even still alive. She realized that he was staring at her in concern.

"Eat. You have to be hungry!" he urged, digging into his own fish.

She began to nibble on her kabob, but slowly. Her mind was far too cluttered with nervous thoughts about everyone who had been taken, but she was also worried about Hiccup. As she took another tentative bite of her fish, Hiccup broke into a coughing fit beside her. He smiled weakly at her when it had passed and kept eating like nothing had happened.

"Hiccup?"

"Ya?"

"What's wrong?"

"Um, I don't know, the whole island has been kidnapped by Outcasts, but that's pretty usual stuff," he replied giving her a bewildered look.

"No, what's wrong with you?" she urged.

"Nothing," he replied quickly with a small cough.

Astrid didn't buy it, but she let it go. She would figure it out. Soon the fire began to die down, and Hiccup fell asleep on the outskirts of the camp. Astrid stay awake, leaning against Stormfly and staring into the dying embers of the fire intently. Looking at Hiccup intently she let out a sigh.

"What's going on here?" she whispered to the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello lovely readers! I realize it's been a while, and I'm sorry for that. I've been pretty busy. I also had this chapter written and done when my friend accidentally deleted it while proof reading, so I had to re-write it. Thanks Will! Well, I'm going to work on faster updates and stuff now. If y'all have any suggestions or anything, feel free to tell me. Have a great day and enjoy the chapter!**

A creepy cackle echoed throughout the cavern hidden by dense brush, sending a chill through all those inside. The villagers of Berk were huddled at the far end of the cave, bruised, battered, and defeated. Their leader was standing strong in front of them, but even he had a sadness in his eyes. No one had escaped the ambush unscathed.

A hulking figure lumbered up to their leader, Stoic, and stood uncomfortably close to him. His putrid breath enveloped Stoic in a near visible haze, and his wild tangle of a beard threatened to intermingle with Stoic's own beard.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, old friend?" hissed the outcast.

Stoic didn't respond. He faced the outcast resolutely, refusing to let him see his anger or pain.

"What? No snarky comments for your nemesis?"

Again, there was no response from Stoic.

"We're a bit too old for the silent treatment, don't you think?" he growled lowly.

Silence.

"Argh! You will answer me when I talk to you! Unless, you want to watch your best friend die? You've already lost your son, Stoic, I don't think you want to lose Gobber too," he screeched in the way only a mad man can.

Stoic blinked back tears, and many villagers hung their heads behind him. Gobber shook his now hook-less hand at the outcasts as they dragged him in front of Stoic.

"Murderers! Every last one of you disgusting, dung-eating, Thor-cursed, sons of-"Gobber started angrily.

"That's enough, Gobber! I think Alvin here knows just what he's done. There's no point in making our situation worse," Stoic muttered.

"He speaks! And what does the fair chief have to say?" snarled Alvin.

His outcasts chuckled behind him, and the villagers of Berk glared back.

"I say that your quarrel is with me. Let my villagers go. I'll stay," Stoic responded coolly.

"Let me think about that. Outcasts, what say you?" he said, turning and raising his arms with a smirk.

"Never!" they responded loudly.

"Well, there ya have it," Alvin said, turning to face Stoic once more, "Your village is mine. Your people are mine. When the brats get back, the dragons are mine! Everything you had, is mine now. I'm practically the king! And do you know what the King wants? He wants you all to stay here!"

"That's ridiculous!" Stoic yelled angrily, shoving his pain to the side to help his village.

"Ya! What in Thor's name could keeping us here possibly do?" Gobber agreed.

"Bring the dragon brats running here of course. Then I'll have more than just one dragon trainer, and I'll be the most powerful man in the islands!" Alvin replied excitedly.

"They'll never find us, Alvin the idiot, if we're hidden here! There's no one left out there to point them in the direction of the cave!" Gobber yelled.

"He annoys me. Get rid of him," Alvin said casually.

"No! Gobber!" Stoic cried, rushing forward to help his friend.

A swarm of Outcasts rushed to restrain him, and Gobber was taken from the cave, shouting and cursing all the way. The Outcasts who had taken him out returned shortly afterwards and gave Alvin a curt nod.

"Let his mistake be a warning to you all! Make any move against me, and you will die!" he roared.

With that, Alvin stalked out of the cave, and his followers turned and left with him. Two guards were posted outside the cave, but otherwise the people of Berk were now left alone. Stoic rushed around the group taking a headcount, helping injured, giving advice, and trying desperately to keep morale up, though he himself wasn't even quite sure why he bothered. After a hectic hour of getting everyone settled, he walked over to an empty corner of the cave and sat down heavily. He took off his helmet and stared at it intently, falling deep into thought.

He tried to make sense of the day's events, but a single thought kept interrupting his efforts.

Hiccup was dead.

Stoic knew it. He knew that his son was dead with as much certainty as he knew eels repelled dragons. His son had tried his best to tame the crazy beast terrorizing the town, but it had cost him his life. He had seen it happen. Everyone had. Everyone had paused, if only for a moment, as the giant, crazed dragon threw the best dragon trainer in the archipelago into the wall. Everyone heard the _crack_, and everyone saw his head bend awkwardly to the side as he hit the ground and collapsed into a heap. Everyone realized what had happened when he didn't get back up.

Stoic had felt his world crumble around him as his only son and only family member left, died, and he was helpless to stop it. It all happened in less than an instant, but Alvin used that instant and disarmed Stoic, whom he had been fighting. With that, the battle was lost. Though the fighting continued for quite some time, the people of Berk knew it was in vain. They knew they had lost. One by one, the Outcasts began to herd the villagers towards a cave deep in the woods that they had scouted out before the ambush. They left Stoic for last, and as they marched him past the body of his son, he struggled to get to him, but the Outcasts kept him back.

They marched deep into the woods with no food or water. The villagers were hungry and exhausted by the time they reached the cave. Many were injured, and more Vikings were missing than Stoic cared to notice. His only solace had been Gobber, and now the Outcasts had taken him away, too. Stoic was truly on his own, and he wanted to cry. He wanted to scream that it wasn't fair and beg for Thor to smite all the outcasts and bring his son and Gobber back, but he couldn't. He had to stay strong for his village, because he was the only leader they had left.

Silently, slowly, Stoic began to think of a plan. A plan for rescue or escape, he wasn't sure yet, but it was a plan. He had to have a plan, because he was the only one who could possibly come up with one. He started to form a plan to drown out the loss, and as he sat there against the cold, dark cave wall, a plan came to him. More accurately, it ambled up to him good-naturedly and gave a little cough.

Stoic looked up and found himself staring into the large, green eyes of a night fury, and he grinned for the first time that miserable day.

"Hello, Toothless. Where have you been this whole time?"

Astrid woke up with a start, startling her dragon who screeched and jumped to her feet. Astrid turned to her left preparing to apologize to Hiccup for waking him up, but found herself looking at empty space. Hiccup wasn't at the camp. She jumped to her feet and shrugged off the blanket he had loaned her. She peered into the darkness surrounding the camp, but couldn't make out anything but the vague outline of trees. The fire had long since gone out, and only a few smoldering embers remained. Stormfly was stalking around the clearing sniffing the air.

"Hiccup? Hiccup! Where are you?" Astrid hissed into the darkness.

There was no response. Astrid turned to her dragon, who had returned to her side.

"Could you re-light the fire please, girl?" she asked gently, rubbing the dragon's neck.

Stormfly chuffed and immediately shot flames into the half-burnt logs left in the fire pit. The flames cast long shadows against the surrounding tree trunks, but also bathed the clearing in yellow-orange light. Astrid, who could see much better and farther now, walked cautiously to the edge of the clearing and looked through the trees.

"Hiccup?" she called again, but again she received no answer.

She repressed a shudder, but couldn't help the goose bumps that sprang up on her body, or the chill that ran down her spine.

_There's no reason to be scared. I am a Viking for Thor's sake; I eat scary for breakfast!_ She chided herself.

However, she stood a bit closer to Stormfly. There was safety in numbers.

"Hiccup! This isn't funny anymore! Come out!" she yelled loudly.

Suddenly, a loud thud sounded from the forest, followed by two more. Loud, echoing footsteps reverberated through the forest, and they sounded like they were coming towards the camp. Astrid drew her sword and stood next to Stormfly. She braced herself for a fight against the Outcasts, rogue dragons, wolves, or anything else that might throw itself at her. Stormfly growled menacingly, and the pair began to walk around the campfire checking the surroundings. A _whoosh _sounded from the far side of the camp, and Astrid whipped around to face it, but another _whoosh _sounded near her. Another came from another side. Astrid and Stormfly were turning in circles, sword and tail spears out in utter terror.

Astrid ran the things she knew through her head in an effort to stay calm. She knew three things:

She and Stormfly were surrounded

It was almost morning

_Hiccup was missing._

Considering she had nothing left to lose, Astrid called out to Hiccup one last time.

"Hiccup! Come back, or so help me I will pound you into a pulp!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, still circling the open flame.

Suddenly, everything was silent. No movement or noises came from the trees, and Stormfly suddenly stopped in her tracks. Astrid, who was still turning, slammed into her dragon's side and spun ungracefully around in an effort to stay on her feet.

"What is it girl?" she asked the now- unmoving dragon.

Stormfly snorted in response and tossed her head in the direction of the path they had used to enter the camp. Astrid followed her dragon's gaze and faced the entrance to the camp. Her eyes widened in surprise, confusion, and anger as she stared at the unexpected visitors in front of her. After a long stare down, one of the visitors stepped forward.

"Hey Astrid. We heard there was trouble, but we didn't think you'd let it get this bad. Guess it was just a job for a strong, able man, such as myself," he said cockily.

"I'm going to _kill _you!" was her only response.

"Take it easy, babe, we're here to help!" he chuckled.

"Don't call me that. Give me one good reason not to kick your butt from here to the next island, Snotlout," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because, I'm the only card you've got left," Snotlout replied, puffing out his chest ridiculously.

_Great. Hiccup's missing and I have to deal with Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs on my own. It's not even 6am yet._

Two people ran through the forest quickly. One was tall and cloaked, and it appeared to be chasing the smaller, limping figure. Eventually they found themselves out of the woods and on top of one of Berk's many cliffs. They both drew to a halt. The sun began to peak over the horizon, and the mop of brown hair and the metal foot of the smaller figure could just be made out in the early morning light. The taller figure was still cloaked in shadow despite the rising sun.

"You can't run from me forever," the taller figure intoned slowly, in a voice made weary by time and hard work.

"I can try," came the smaller figure's brave response.

"You must come now," the figure insisted, but more gently this time.

"I need more time! I can make this right!" the smaller person urged.

"You have two days. After that, you must leave," it said slowly before dissipating into the air leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to tell them?" the person, a boy, asked himself as he turned back to head into the forest.

The fate of the island and everyone he cared about rested on his shoulders, and he only had two days to save them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello lovely readers! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, y'all rock! I'm heading to camp at the end of this week, and while I will have my laptop I doubt I'll get much writing done. I'll try and get some done, but it's a Duke TIP camp, and I'll have lots of studying to do. As always, I will take idea requests and seriously enjoy a review. Sorry this is short, I'm just trying to get in before I leave. :) Have an awesome day and enjoy the chapter!**

"Snotlout! You absolute idiot, why didn't you come sooner? Scratch that, why are you even here? You told everyone that Johan was just a crazy old man, so why are you here?" Astrid yelled angrily.

Fishlegs stepped out tentatively from behind the safety of Snotlout's dragon. He looked down at his feet and wrung his pudgy hands nervously. He began to mumble unintelligibly towards the ground, all the while shuffling his feet.

"What? I can't hear you, Fishlegs," Astrid said more calmly, but the frustration was still evident in her voice.

"I said…..." Fishlegs began again, but he quickly trailed off into mumbles again.

"Fishlegs!" Astrid urged in exasperation while Snotlout looked on laughing.

Roughnut and Toughnut were too busy chasing each other around the camp with sticks to be of much use, and Snotlout wasn't going to tell Astrid anything, his pride wouldn't let him. A true Viking never backs down, at least that was Snotlout's idiotic idea.

"Sorry, Astrid. Snotlout didn't decide to come; the leader of Wepper told us we weren't needed anymore. We were coming home, but we flew over the village and realized that Johan had been right. We started looking around, and found a trail. Then we were here," Fishlegs explained slowly.

"Did you see Hiccup on your way in?" Astrid asked, deciding to ignore her rising frustration with the four dragon riders.

"Hiccup's here?" came Snotlout's annoyed voice from the campfire.

"Yes, but I can't find him. He was here earlier."

"Just follow the dragon tracks, I bet Toothless followed him wherever he went," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Toothless isn't with Hiccup. He's with the villagers. Hiccup had been living up here on his own until I showed up," Astrid replied coolly.

"Oh," Snotlout said abashedly.

"Shut up, Snotlout," Astrid growled.

"Um, Astrid, where are all the people from the village?" Roughnut piped up as Toughnut hit her with a stick.

"Yeah, they're all, like, not in the village! Ouch!" agreed Toughnut, as Roughnut shoved him.

They started to push each other back and forth, and they began to teeter perilously close to the fire. Snotlout laughed and egged them on while Astrid tried to shout over the chaos to answer the question. She gave up and threw her hands in the air.

"Ugh! Why do I even bother?" she grumbled, "C'mon, Fishlegs, let's go get some food."

The two turned to walk into the woods, but as they did a familiar voice stopped them.

"No need to, I've got plenty right here."

Every single head in the campsite turned to face the newcomer. Dragons squawked and jumped to attention in surprise.

"Hiccup! Where the heck were you?" Astrid cried, flying at him.

She wrapped him in a tight hug, but then quickly pulled away from him and punched his arm.

"That was for scaring me," she said, but it was evident that she was relieved that he was safe.

"Sorry. I was just going to find some more food; I couldn't sleep. When did you guys get here?" he asked, looking at the rest of the dragon riders in surprise.

"Not that long ago. Wepper didn't need us anymore so we thought we'd come home," Fishlegs explained.

"So, Hiccup, what's the plan here? I mean, I could always come up with a plan," Snotlout asked with a smirk.

"No, I was thinking while I was out. I think I have a plan now," Hiccup replied with an equally proud smirk.

"Plan for what?" asked Toughnut and Roughnut together.

"For saving everyone and stopping Alvin," Fishlegs explained.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh," the twins said, nodding then going back to punching each other.

"So what are you thinking?" Astrid asked.

"Well…,"

…

"Stoic! Psst, Stoic! Wake up, Alvin's back!"

"Huh, wait what? Where am I? Alvin?" came the disgruntled response from the enormous half-asleep man.

"Stoic! Wake up!" insisted the woman sitting next to him, glancing nervously towards the entrance of the cave where the outcasts looming figures were loitering.

"Huh?" Stoic said intelligently as he sat up.

Blinking blearily, Stoic looked at his surroundings in confusion. The crowded, damp cave was unfamiliar, and Toothless was curled up tightly by his side. He searched the crowd for his son, but he didn't see him anywhere. The woman next to him looked at him sadly and watched as the slow realization and memories from the day before returned to her chief. His whole face seemed to age before her, and he hung his head for a moment before picking it up and staring at the front of the cave with a steely gaze.

"Thanks, Helga," he murmured to the woman next to him.

"No problem, Stoic," she replied, picking herself up to wake up the other villagers.

Groggily, Stoic heaved himself to his feet. Toothless immediately jumped to attention next to him and holding his head high focused his intense green gaze on Alvin. The pair watched the man lumber back and forth outside the cave before looking at each other and giving almost imperceptible nods. Quickly afterwards they began to walk towards the entrance of the cave while the villagers of Berk looked on in confusion and surprise. Stoic beckoned for them all to follow him, and the villagers began to rise around him, some clutching loose rocks and stones with jagged edges as crude weapons. As one, the village surged towards the front of the mouth of the cave as Stoic and Toothless led the way. With a mighty roar Stoic broke into a run, and the Vikings followed suit. The Outcasts turned and stared in absolute shock as the villagers charged them, and as it was still early in the morning, it took the already disorganized Outcasts even more time than usual to ready themselves for battle, but by then it was too late.

The villagers were out of the cave, and punching, fighting, bludgeoning, and commandeering weapons with a vengeance while Toothless shot plasma blasts into the throng at Outcasts, taking them out at least two at a time.

It was total chaos.

Stoic had found Alvin and a sword somewhere along the way and the two former friends were facing each other with disdain and hate evident in each of their faces. Stoic had been willing to forgive Alvin for his deeds until he had killed his son. Any shred of mercy he had left in him had left with Hiccup, and the man standing before Alvin would have sent even the bravest of men packing. However, Alvin was stupid and deranged rather than brave so he held his ground and warped his face in what passed as a grin.

"So, Stoic, is this what you were brewing up last night? You won't win, ya know. I will. This island is mine now, so don't even bother," he laughed.

"Keep dreaming," Stoic growled, lunging forward with his sword.

"I mean, why even bother? You have nothing to go back to anyways," taunted Alvin, deflecting Stoics swords and countering with a jab of his own.

"I have the village. They need me, but you know what they don't need?" huffed Stoic with a swipe of his sword.

"Do tell," quipped Alvin, sidestepping.

"You!" growled Stoic, finally succeeding in landing a glancing blow.

However, it was he needed, and as Alvin stared in surprise at the gash in his arm, Stoic lunged at him and pinned him against a nearby tree, knocking the sword from his hand. Murder was in his eyes, but staring at Alvin's crazed, equally murderous gaze snapped Stoic out of his trance. While keeping Alvin pinned to the tree, he stared hard at him.

"Get off my island. Call off your troops and I won't kill you."

Alvin could do nothing but nod and ran off all the while hollering for the Outcasts to follow him out to the ships. The villagers cheered around Stoic and walked back to Berk to clean it up and celebrate their victory. Stoic had just started to enter the village when-

"Stoic! Stoic! Wake up, please, Alvin's calling for you!" a desperate, pleading voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

He'd already woken up. Who was talking to him?

"Stoic!" growled a familiar, crazed voice.

"I kicked you off my island, now go away!" replied Stoic to the phantom Alvin.

"Stoic! Get up you lazy dog," insisted Alvin, but this time the voice was accompanied by an intense pain in his side almost as if someone had kicked him.

His eyes flew open, and the dream began to fade. Stoic groaned as he was greeted by reality. A reality where he wasn't the strong but broken leader, he was just broken. He wasn't leading his tribe out of captivity, he was part of the reason they were here. This was the reality where sweaty, stupid, smelly Alvin was still on his island, not off it. It had been two days without food or water now and it was clearly taking its toll on Stoic and all the villagers.

"Your village is getting water. I'm sending around a bucket. Enjoy, dog," laughed Alvin, "Those dragon rider brats will be back soon. I just have to keep you alive until then."


	4. Chapter 4

**HEY GUYS! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack! The story is baaaaaaaaaaack! I've decided I'm going to pick where I left off. Please remember to review and give ideas or advice, complaints, comments, thoughts, whatever :) Have a great day, and enjoy the new (and very overdue) chapter!**

"So what I'm thinking is-"Hiccup started.

"Wait a second, wait a second, why are we letting you be leader?" Snotlout protested.

"Because you asked me and you're an idiot. So what I'm thinking is that I go down and distract the Outcasts since I'll be on foot. Meanwhile, you guys take the dragons and storm the cave and get everyone out!" Hiccup exclaimed, his eyes dancing with excitement.

Astrid eyed him warily while Snotlout chortled meanly.

"Hiccup you can't do that," Astrid said, her brow creasing worriedly.

"And why not?" he asked, dodging a flying stick as Roughnut and Toughnut dashed by.

"Because they'll get you too! You're hurt," Astrid argued.

"Besides," Snotlout pointed out, stretching lazily by the fire, "we don't even know where this cave is. Heck, we don't even know if they're in a cave."

Hiccup pursed his lips in frustration, and fought back an urge to snap at the hulking man by the fire. Astrid, sensing his frustration, placed a hand on his arm and shot him a glance that clearly read _not now_. As she placed her hand on his arm, she forced herself to keep her hand in place as she realized with shock that Hiccup was ice cold.

"I know where the cave is, and it doesn't matter if I get caught so long as the village is fine and you guys are fine," Hiccup stated with a huff.

Fishlegs, who had been sitting quietly to the side listening finally found his voice.

"That's stupid, Hiccup," he stated, his dragon growling in agreement.

"Why?"

"Because you can't honestly think we'd let you be the bait!" Astrid said angrily, nodding at Fishlegs in agreement.

"But it doesn't matter anyways. Besides, they won't catch me and right now this is all we've got," Hiccup argued, shoving his dark hair out of his eyes.

The sun had long since risen over the horizon and the sunlight was filtering through the leaves of the trees, casting a green hue over everything. It would almost have been a calm scene if not for the twins, who were wreaking havoc on everything they touched. Hiccup seemed to deflate as the meaning behind his words hit him, and the green light made the already pale boy look even sicklier. Snotlout felt something twinge in him.

Sure, he and Hiccup had never been the best of friends, but Snotlout cared a little for the guy. He looked horrible, and his obvious disregard for his own life was scary. Something had happened during the invasion, something he hadn't told them. Suddenly Snotlout realized that maybe he had told Astrid. After all, she had been there before him. With no small amount of thinking, Snotlout decided that he would get Astrid alone under the pretense of collecting firewood.

_Ya, that'll work. Then she'll see what a caring and good person and I am, as well as handsome, and she'll come right back to me. _He thought.

With a heavy sigh, he hauled himself off of the log he had been lounging on and dusted off his pants.

"It's freezing up here, and I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be a popsicle. I'm going to collect firewood. You want to come, Astrid?" he announced, putting his plan in motion.

She looked at Hiccup, who waved her away.

"I'll be fine, I've been on my own for a few days. I'm not completely helpless. Besides, Fishlegs and the twins are here," he said.

"Oh that's so comforting," she replied, ignoring Fishleg's indignant _hey! _

"Are you coming or what?" Snotlout urged, anxious to get under way.

"Ya, ya I'm coming. Don't get your helmet in a twist," she called, turning to follow him out of the camp, her ax swinging by her side.

They had been walking for a while when Snotlout finally spoke up.

"So what's the deal with Hiccup?" he asked bluntly.

"Hmmm?" Astrid replied, paying no attention at all.

"I said, so what's wrong with Hiccup?" Snotlout reiterated more loudly.

"Wrong with him?" Astrid echoed lowly.

"Ya. He's acting weird, and he's walking weird, and he says weird things. I mean I've only been here a few hours and I've noticed. You've been here a whole day and half so surely you've caught on…," he trailed off as Astrid fixed her steely blue eyes on him.

"_What's wrong with him? _I don't know, Snotlout, what might be wrong with him? It's not like he watched his entire village be captured. It's not like he was thrown into a wall by a dragon. It's not like he's been living out here alone, injured, for three days. It's not like he's been starving and trying to conserve food. It's not like he waited for days for help that seemed as if it was never coming. I have no idea what could possibly be wrong with him," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Snotlout was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that at all. Stammering, he tried to apologize to the fuming blond, but she would have none of it. Swinging her ax threateningly from shoulder to shoulder, she dared him to say another word. Gulping down his pride, out of sheer terror, he tried to explain himself.

"Look, Astrid, I didn't know. I didn't know any of that," he stuttered.

"Ya, well now ya do. It ain't pretty, and I don't want to talk about it anymore. We have one more night of rest and planning before we try to break everyone out and quite frankly I don't want to deal with whatever is actually wrong with Hiccup until after this is all over," she stormed.

"So you admit something is wrong with him," blurted Snotlout, unable to stop himself.

Astrid heaved her ax back and sunk it deep into a nearby tree, drew it out, and did it again. Snotlout, thinking the conversation was over, followed suit. He began hacking away at a tree for firewood only to hear Astrid from behind him mutter something.

"What was that?" he asked, pausing in his work.

"I said, of course there is something wrong with him," she muttered again, but more loudly this time.

"What do you think it is?" Snotlout asked, curious.

"I don't know, and I really don't like not knowing. C'mon, let's finish up here and head back to camp," she said, ending the conversation.

They continued the rest of the task in an uneasy silence, and as they headed back to camp through the densely wooded forest, their thoughts began to wonder. Snotlout was worried about his family; the problem of Hiccup was long forgotten- he couldn't think of more than a few things at once. However, Astrid's mind was racing.

She needed to know her family was okay and that the village was okay. She wanted to know what was wrong with Hiccup, because something was horribly wrong. She wanted everyone to be safe tomorrow as they broke the villagers free. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice as a large, hulking figure raced towards her. She didn't notice as Snotlout yelled in surprise and drew his weapon. Only when the figure had drawn to a stop in front of her and she blatantly walked into it did she notice.

"Snotlout!" she exclaimed in annoyance, only to look up into a face that was most definitely _not _Snotlout's.

A bushy, unkempt blond beard that sat beneath a fleshy nose and twinkling blue eyes set in a face riddled with scars looked down on her. A metal leg protruded from beneath a baggy trouser leg, and a metal nub covered the stump where a hand obviously used to be at the end of a brawny and scarred arm. Astrid swept her gaze over the muddy, torn, and well-worn clothes, taking in every detail of the man. Finally, her wide eyes met the man's.

"Gobber?" she asked in shock.

"Aye, it's me, Lass," he said roughly.

"But, how?" she asked as Snotlout made his way over, equally dumbfounded.

"I'll tell you late, but right now it's important that we get back to wherever you all are staying. I need to tell everyone everything. It's a lot to take in, and you'll most likely want to be sitting down, Lassie," he said roughly, his eyes shining momentarily with unshed tears.

"Gobber? What's wrong?" Snotlout asked in as gentle a voice as he could muster.

"I'll tell you later. Unless, of course, it's just the two of you?" Gobber replied solemnly.

"No, no we brought the twins and Fishlegs back, too," Astrid assured him, "C'mon follow us."

A few minutes later they were at the campsite. Chaos had erupted in their absence, and the twins were throwing themselves at each other while Fishlegs tried desperately to calm the agitated dragons skirting the camp. Hiccup's back was to the group, and he was trying, in vain, to calm and shut up the twins. Hearing Astrid and Snotlout's voices, Hiccup turned to greet them, a relieved smile on his face.

"Thank Thor you two are back, I was beginning to think you'd left me here with these two idiots," he laughed.

"I can't say that the thought didn't cross my mind," said Snotlout as he crossed the camp to meet Hiccup who had hurried over to help with the fire wood.

"Here, let me help," he said as he grabbed a few large pieces of wood and hauled them over to the fire, "Astrid, are you going to bring your wood or…" he trailed off as he turned back around.

Gobber was standing at the entrance of the camp and staring at Hiccup as if he had seen a ghost. The color had drained from his face, and he was standing stock-still, frozen, just staring at Hiccup from across the camp.

"Gobber?" Hiccup asked in surprise, starting to make his way over to the man who was like an uncle to him.

"G-get away from me," Gobber stammered, fear and anger flooding his voice, "Get away from everyone!"

He roughly shoved Astrid and Snotlout behind him, causing Astrid to stumble and drop her load everywhere. Astrid and Snotlout exchanged worried glances behind the enormous man, then peeked out from either side of his body to see Hiccup who, to their surprise, was looking at Gobber calmly.

"Gobber? What's gotten into you?" Astrid asked nervously.

"It's what I was going to tell ya. Hiccup's dead," Gobber growled forlornly.

"No he's not, he's right there," Astrid insisted.

"Gobber, I'm right here. I'm not dead, and I'm not a ghost," Hiccup said, taking a few steps towards them.

"Stay away from me! How _dare _you impersonate that boy! Be gone, spirit!" Gobber bellowed angrily, throwing his arms into the air.

Hiccup flinched, but he continued towards Gobber, holding one arm out.

"Gobber, I'm not a ghost, and I'm not an evil spirit. Here, feel my arm! I'm as real as anybody else here," he urged, the hurt showing on his face.

"Gobber, he's telling the truth," Fishlegs called from across camp as he finally settled the dragons; the twins were still too busy hitting each other to notice anything had happened.

"Not you too! Fishlegs, come here! Roughnut, Toughnut, come stand behind me you blumberin' idiots," Gobber replied.

"I'm real!" Hiccup insisted.

A chorus of _yeses _sounded from behind Gobber as all the teens agreed.

"No, you're not. Hiccup is dead," Gobber replied coldly.

"I'm Hiccup, and I'm very much alive," he countered, but he had stopped moving towards Gobber in the hopes that the frenzied man would calm down.

"No, you're not, boy. You may think you are, but you're not," Gobber replied, but this time his tone was gentler.

_Maybe he's lost. Maybe the poor boy's spirit is confused and thinks he's still alive. Someone has to tell him,_ he thought to himself sadly.

"Gobber, I'm alive," Hiccup insisted, but he looked more tired than upset that Gobber refused to believe him.

"Hiccup, you're not alive. You died when the Outcasts invaded," Gobber started with a sigh.

"Gobber, stop it! You're freaking me out," Fishlegs whined from behind him.

Ignoring him, Gobber continued, "We were all fighting remember? They let loose that dragon and you tried to calm it?"

"He hit the wall and was knocked unconscious, when he came to you all were gone," Astrid finished in frustration.

"Oh ya? And who told you that, Ms. Smarty Pants?" Gobber said, turning to her.

"Hiccup…," she whispered uncertainly.

"I'm sorry Lass," he said sadly, turning back to face Hiccup, "You hit the wall and you broke your neck. _You're dead, Hiccup._"

Hiccup closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly thinking hard about whatever he should say next.

"I should be," he said finally, "but, I made a deal with Death."

"What?" everyone yelled at the same time.

"Hiccup, what have you done?" Gobber whispered.

The teens rushed forward from behind Gobber and surrounded Hiccup in a worried mass.

"You what now?" Astrid exclaimed angrily.

"Let me explain," he started.

"What will your father think?" Gobber asked.

"I was hoping he wouldn't find out," Hiccup said sadly.

"That's why you wanted to be bait!" Snotlout exclaimed.

Everyone was yelling and arguing while Hiccup tried to answer everyone and explain all that had happened. Finally, he threw is arms down by his sides helplessly.

"Everyone shut up! Let me explain," he yelled over the chaos.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello my lovely readers! Oh, what's this you ask? Could it be? A **_**second **_**update in a week? OH YA IT IS! Guess who's on top of things for once in her life? That's right, this girl! I loved the response I got last update, and I would love it if y'all would keep that up this time! Have a great day and enjoy the chapter!**

A hush had fallen over everyone. Even the dragons were still and quiet as they watched the young dragon trainer in confusion.

"Okay, so the Outcasts invaded, and I got thrown into a wall, and I died, but it wasn't instantaneous. For a long time I was just lying there going in and out of consciousness," Hiccup started.

Gobber shook his head, obviously distressed that he hadn't been able to help. The teens just stared at him in various states of concern and horror. Even the twins sat in rapt attention trying to wrap their minds around what happened to Hiccup.

"So the battle ended and everyone was being rounded up. I saw my dad, I saw you," he said, motioning to Gobber, "and then I blacked out. When I came to, the village was deserted. I still couldn't move…," he trailed off as the memories he'd been staving off hit him full force.

_ Pain. Immeasurable pain. That was the first thing he noticed as he struggled to wake up. A small part of him was screaming GO BACK TO SLEEP! GET RID OF THIS PAIN! HOLY MOTHER OF DRAGONS! But the rest of him was too occupied trying to piece together the fragmented memories swimming in his head into some semblance of sense. _

_ Outcasts…dragon…oh shit. Yep, that's why everything hurts. _

_ Shaking, Hiccup forced his eyes to open. They widened in horror as he saw the village completely in ruin around him. Houses were demolished, sheep meandered unattended through the streets, and the thatched roof of the well was smoldering. Scorch marks littered walls and streets, and even a few buildings were still on fire. He tried not to notice the bodies of villagers and outcasts alike lying in the street. _

_ Mustering as much energy as he could, he tried to get up, but he was unable to move. He tried again, but he couldn't move, and the more he tried the more his pain grew. Eventually he gave up, and he lay on the ground, defeated, with tears in his eyes. He knew he was going to die. Heck, he was dying already, but no one would know. His friends wouldn't know, and his father, oh goodness, his father had _seen _him hit the wall. His father probably thought he was dead. No one was coming. He was alone and dying. _

_ He started to cry, but no sound came out. After a while, after the tears had stopped coming, he realized that it could always be worse. He was feeling weaker and weaker, and he knew his time was coming soon. _

_ Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye. There was a tall, hooded figure walking down the street, stopping by each body and looking it over. Then he- she? It? - would touch their heads and say a few words and continue on. _

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" someone was talking to him.

"Huh? What?" he asked intelligently, startled.

"You zoned out. What's wrong? Keep telling us what happened," Astrid explained gently.

"Aye, lad, you have to explain yourself here," Gobber reiterated.

"Sorry. Just thinking. So I was lying there and then this guy came up and said 'It's your time'," Hiccup continued.

_The figure was over him now. It was just standing there, but now it was so close that Hiccup could see the liver spotted hands and smell the putrid sent of death hanging off the person. In a deep voice, a voice that he felt in his bones, the creature began to speak._

_ "It is your time."_

_ "For what?" Hiccup asked, playing dumb to figure out who this was- not that it really mattered. He was just curious. _

_ "You know what. Do not try my patience, boy," he intoned gravely. _

_ Hiccup was silent. He thought of his father, his friends, Gobber, the dragons, Toothless. Finally he moved his gaze back up to the man's face._

_ "Who are you?" he asked finally._

_ "I am Death," he replied in a sigh, as if he was tired of having to admit what he was._

_ "Are you powerful?" Hiccup asked, a plan forming in his addled brain. _

_ "Yes. I control the time and place of death. It is my realm. I take those who die where they need to go. I turn the seasons. I give food. I take life. I am more powerful than you can comprehend," he stated firmly._

_ "Then you could you change your mind?" Hiccup prompted._

_ "Change my mind?" Death asked, taken aback._

_ "Yes. Could you, great and powerful as you are, change your mind?" _

_ "Yes. I can," Death said, catching on. _

_ "Since you can change your mind, would you?"_

_ "It depends. What do you have to offer? Why do you need to say?" Death drawled._

_ "Nothing. I have nothing to offer, but I need to stay," Hiccup said. _

_ "That's what they all say," Death said, reaching his hand towards Hiccup's head._

_ "No! I need to stay so I can fix this! When it's fixed I'll go with you," Hiccup protested._

_ "When what is fixed?" Death asked, pausing._

_ "When everyone is safe. When the Outcasts can no longer hurt my village," Hiccup said softly._

_ "How can you do that if you can't even move?" Death asked with a smirk. _

_ "I…I don't know. But I'll find a way," Hiccup said, determination settling across his features. _

_ Death looked at him, but it was more like he was looking _through _him. Finally, he retracted the hand he had outstretched and straightened. _

_ "You have five days," he said, waving his hand and disappearing._

_ "Hello?" Hiccup called out, staring at the empty air around him, "What am I supposed to do? I can't move!"_

_ He hung his head dejectedly, instinctively stretching out his arm to rest his head on. He lay there for a few moments before realizing something. His arm was under his head. He jerked his head up and stared at his arm in wonder, wiggling his fingers in amazement. Then he moved his other arm, and he scrambled to his feet. As he stood, his ankle smarted in pain. Looking down he heard a whisper. _

_ "It's a reminder."_

_ Not knowing what else to do, Hiccup took off through the village looking for anyone. There was no one there, it was completely deserted. He made his way to his house, picking up supplies as he went. Upon entering, he realized that he couldn't stay. The outcasts would come back, and he couldn't be there when they did. _

_ Throwing his supplies in a sack, he fled into the forest and tried to think about how to fix everything._

"Hiccup!"

"C'mon, man, this is getting ridiculous."

"He almost looks stupider than you- Ow!"

"Hehehe."

"C'mon lad."

"Hiccup?"

He shook himself out of his stupor as the chorus of voices assaulted him.

"Hiccup! What do you keep thinking about?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Waking up," he answered cryptically; they didn't need to know what had happened in its entirety.

"So the guy said it was your time or whatever, and then what?" Snotlout urged.

"And then I bargained with him. I got five days. I spent three up here, one now with you guys, and tomorrow is my last day. That's why we need to break them out tonight," he stated, his calm demeanor barely masking the urgency in his words.

"So we'll get them out tonight," Gobber said, matter-of-factly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello lovely readers! I am so incredibly sorry for the late update. Really, I am. I had a lot going on in my life… my dad was in the hospital, I had finals, and a bunch of other stuff was happening. Also, school has been insane. I really am so sorry for how late this is! Sadly, this is the last chapter. If y'all want a new story, go ahead and check out the poll on my page or pm me or comment. I hope you all have enjoyed this; I know I have! To those of you who stuck with me, hiatus and all, thank you! To those of you who just found this and decided to read, thank you! Stay awesome, and enjoy! **

Silence had fallen across the cave. The Outcasts had all gone out a long time ago, and Stoic was left sitting dejectedly next to Toothless. The dragon nestled into his side and stared up at Stoic forlornly with sad, green eyes. He grumbled and put his head down on Stoic's lap.

Absently, Stoic reached out and rubbed the dragon's head affectionately.

"It'll be all right, Toothless. We'll figure something out," he whispered, as if he were trying to convince himself rather than the dragon.

The villagers were starving, a week on minimal food and nearly no water was taking its toll, and tempers were strained. Stoic and a group of other villagers had organized a revolt, but it had gone horribly wrong. He and the others had lain in wait for the Outcasts who typically brought their food. The idea was they would jump them, steal their weapons, take the next round of outcasts and liberate everyone. Needless to say, it hadn't worked.

The Outcasts had yelled loudly when Stoic and the other men jumped them, bringing a tidal wave of other Outcasts crashing down upon them. The uprising was crushed, and they had all been subdued and punished. Stoic was made to watch as the other men were beaten, some killed, some turned loose in the forest. Not a finger had been lain on the once- proud chief.

Grief stricken, Stoic now sat in the dark waiting. He needed to be strong for his people, wanted to be strong for his people, but he wasn't sure how much more he could take. He lost his son, he lost his best friend, he'd lost some of his people, and now he was losing his resolve. Toothless was trying to entertain the children in the village. He'd bumble around the cave giving the tiny Vikings rides, and warming those who were cold. He still couldn't use his fire, and he hadn't been able to help Stoic in the revolt as he was supposed to protect the villagers should something happen.

However, even the happy-go-lucky dragon was starting to lose his spark. He exhaled softly as he laid his head in Stoic's lap and closed his eyes, remembering all the great times he had with his rider. Great times that were never going to come again.

The two sat in silence in the dark for what seemed like hours. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, and it may even have been days. Time passed strangely now.

Suddenly, a great uproar came from the many outcasts outside the cave. Commands, screams, and unintelligible shouts echoed off the damp stone walls and planted hope inside each of the captives. Someone was coming to rescue them.

However, Stoic merely sat, well, _stoically_ and stared across the cave towards the opposite wall. The shouts fell on deaf ears as he continued to stare vacantly. The villagers were beginning to stir and whisper excitedly among themselves. Their voices bounced off the cavernous walls, causing everything said to sound louder and louder until it was quite deafening as everyone became more and more excited. Still, Stoic did nothing.

Toothless stood up and began to bounce around excitedly, trying to alert everyone. Stoic did nothing. Then silence. The Outcasts stopped yelling. The stomps of running feet faded away, and there was absolute silence coming from outside the cave. The villagers whispered among themselves as they sat in the dark waiting for either rescue or death. Suspense mounted, and everyone grew more agitated the more they waited. Seconds, minutes, and hours passed and still nothing happened. The waiting game the villagers had grown accustomed to here was still very much at play.

Suddenly, a voice rang out above the din- quite literally. The voice called down from a small hole in the roof of the cave which had been the villagers only light source for the past week.

"Is anybody in there? I don't want you to miss the fun!"

With a start, Stoic shook himself out of his stupor. Looking around wildly, he found himself meeting the gaze of equally confused villagers. That had been Hiccup's voice. Hiccup was dead, and if Hiccup was dead, then who was talking?

Stoic hauled himself to his feet and growled.

"Alright, who is that? Who's there?" he said angrily, his strong Viking persona shining through.

"Oh, so you are in there. That's good. Okay, so the plan is that the twins are going to push the stone from in front of the door and you guys are all gonna run out. Snotlout, Astrid, Gobber, and Fishlegs are keeping the Outcasts busy. Don't worry about them. When you leave the cave, follow the twins back to the village. I know, following them seems stupid, but it's the only option.

"Are we all on the same page?" the voice that Stoic refused to hope was Hiccup asked.

"Who are you?" he roared.

"It doesn't matter! Do you understand the plan?" came the frustrated reply.

A chorus of 'ayes' responded to the phantom voice, and people began to mutter excitedly among themselves. However, Stoic was not yet satisfied.

"Who are ya? Where are ya?" he called out again angrily.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

"Wait, did you say Gobber was with ya?" Stoic growled in confusion.

However, the voice was silent.

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Stoic yelled into the silence, forgetting that he was surrounded by his village.

Toothless pushed himself up under Stoic's hand as if to say, 'calm down'. He churred sadly and stared up at the roof where his rider's voice had just disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

"You're right. All right, everyone, I don't know what's going on, but let's be ready. It's time for these Outcasts to get off our island!" roared Stoic, stroking the dragon's enormous head affectionately.

Everyone yelled in agreement. An almost tangible apprehension settled over the villagers trapped in the cave as they lay in wait for their unknown fate. Minutes passed, and nothing happened. Nervous murmurs passed through the crowd, but still they waited. Toothless flicked his tail back and forth nervously, the metal rod clanging off the stone loudly.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Twenty.

They ticked by as still nothing happened. The villagers began to grow restless, moving and whispering not-so-silently as their hope turned to nervousness.

"Alright, settle down everyone, settle down. I'm sure everything is going to be-" Stoic started, but he was promptly cut off by a resounding _bang _that echoed through the cavern and shook the moist, moss-laden walls.

"What was that?" screeched a voice over the startled yelps of the Vikings.

"I don't know, everyone stay calm!" Stoic yelled over the din as yet another crash shook their prison.

Suddenly, an enormous crack broke the wall at the front end of the cave, the very end the Outcasts ventured through every day to deliver their daily dose of annoyance. The crack widened, and widened, blinding the sunlight deprived Vikings and creating a window to the outside world. Another bang and suddenly the window grew, another and it grew some more. As more rocks tumbled and crashed to the ground, the window stretched towards to the ground and became a door. A door that was completely Outcast free.

Everyone froze. Was this a trick? Were the Outcasts really waiting just outside, waiting to ambush them? As everyone waited apprehensively for something more to happen, two blond heads popped out from behind the stone, each grinning stupidly and accompanied by a green dragon head.

"Well c'mon everyone, what are you waiting for? An invitation?" screeched one of the heads in a distinctly female voice.

"That's stupid, we didn't make any invitations how are they supposed to know to come?" asked the second in confusion.

"I can't believe we're related sometimes," responded the girl with an eye roll.

"Well I can't believe we're related sometimes!" retaliated the boy stupidly, punching his apparent sister.

As the two began to claw at each other, fists flying, the villagers recovered from their surprise.

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut! For Thor's sake, cut it out. Do you have a plan?" Stoic cried exasperatedly, but also in relief.

The villagers rushed forward, the twins' family surging around them in a grateful reunion.

"Um, well, we need to go mmmf- get off me- we need to go- I said don't touch me! - we need to go that way!" Ruffnut managed to eek out over the wild family pushing and prodding her.

She pointed towards the woods, where a well disguised gash could be seen on a tree trunk. A trail blaze. Stoic, wasting no time, took the lead and led his now- excited and vengeful hoard of Vikings through the woods.

"This way, follow me!" Stoic exclaimed, as Ruffnut rushed to catch up with him after finally escaping her family.

"Where does this path lead?" he asked behind puffs of breath.

"To the village, with a quick stop at our camp to pick up some things," she replied with a shrug.

"But what about the Outcasts?" Stoic asked worriedly.

"I wouldn't worry about them," she said with a wicked grin.

Too nervous of the response to ask what that meant, Stoic continued along the path. His heavy boots crushed the pine needles beneath his feet as he ran, and his breath puffed out in large clouds in the freezing air. The cave, strangely, had been warm. Most likely from the sheer amount of people packed inside like animals. Now that they were outside, the chill bit them even more harshly, and no one was dressed for the temperatures.

Stoic's mind began to wander, and he began to plan for the days ahead and what supplies would need to be gathered first upon the return to the village. He planned how the villagers would stay warm, where they would stay, how they would get food, anything to distract him from the overwhelming sense of grief mixed with bitter hope hanging over him.

He knew it couldn't have been Hiccup, yet a small part of him wanted to believe that it was. It was ridiculous. He knew his boy was gone. His sweet, intelligent, brave boy.

"We're here," Tuffnut declared, coming up behind Stoic and Ruffnut.

"I was gonna say that!" Ruffnut groaned.

"Well I got to say it first," Tuffnut gloated.

"Twins!" warned Stoic lowly, "Get what you came for. Then lead us to the village."

They sauntered off to collect Thor-knows-what while Stoic surveyed the camp. The other villagers were huddled by the still smoldering fire in the center. Stoic curiously began to make his way around the camp, examining everything. He could see footprints in the dirt surrounding the fire, but one pair in particular caught his attention.

It looked to be the mark of a metal peg leg and a boot. Just as Stoic began to move forward to assure his disbelieving eyes, a Viking trampled the print, erasing it forever. Stoic sighed resignedly and continued walking, shaking his head. It was just a trick of the light and a hopeful heart. That was it. There hadn't actually been anything there.

The twins emerged from behind the fire carrying heavily laden bags. Stoic eyed them warily. Knowing the twins, it could be anything in there.

"Food for the dragons," Ruffnut explained unconvincingly.

Stoic turned a blind eye; he had bigger problems to worry about.

"Okay. Let's head to the village," he said.

Everyone began picking their way through the trees behind the twins as they raced down the mountain towards the village. Despite the excitement and relief at finally being free, an air of caution and apprehension had settled over the party as they came closer and closer to the village and the damage from the battle became more and more evident.

The stench hit them before the village even came into view. Buzzards circled overhead, and everyone tried to ignore the almost unrecognizable corpse of an outcast as they passed it. However, as the bodies became more and more frequent, more and more villagers had to stop or held a hand over their mouths. Their once glorious village was now a devastating graveyard.

In the distance, a dragon roared and Stoic froze. Suddenly confused, he whipped around.

"Toothless? Toothless!" he yelled, his eyes roaming the desolate place for the black dragon.

He had been with him when he left the cave. That was for sure. Where was he now?

Another roar echoed through the village. The people had long ago scattered to arm themselves, hide, clean, or salvage what they could. Everyone was simply relieved to be home, but this place only held misery for Stoic now. He'd lost his wife, his son, and his best friend here. There wasn't anything else. He continued to watch the skies for dragons, the ground for outcasts, and the hills for Toothless but it was to no avail. He saw nothing, and the only sign that something was happening was the chorus of roars growing steadily closer.

He braced himself for whatever was to come, but he was completely unprepared for the slew of dragons that suddenly landed in the road in front of him.

He stared them down, recognizing every single one. The riders slung off their dragon's backs and landed with thuds on the ground. Their shoes kicked up dust as they landed, and their somber faces stared at Stoic blankly.

He scanned the riders and made sure everyone was accounted for. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Gobber. Everyone was there. Everyone but Hiccup. He nodded to them and opened his mouth to talk when he froze, his mouth hanging open stupidly.

"Wait, Gobber?" he exclaimed in confusion.

The riders snickered, and Gobber shushed them with a glare.

"Hush now. Hello Stoic. Nice weather we're having here, eh?" Gobber said casually.

Stoic continued to stare at him then pulled him in roughly for a hug. He didn't say a word; he just squeezed his friend.

"I know, man, I know," Gobber said quietly.

They broke apart quickly, remembering that they were supposed to be the men in charge. Stoic stared over the riders, and he couldn't shake the wrongness of Hiccup not being there. He should be standing there with the rest of them, but he wasn't. He and Toothless together. Astrid stepped forward tentatively.

"Uh, Chief Stoic?" she said quietly.

"Yes, Astrid?" he replied, looking at the girl expectantly.

"Where's Toothless?" she asked, looking around curiously.

"I'm not sure. He disappeared after we left the cave," Stoic replied, electing not to tell them about Hiccup's voice warning them of their coming escape.

They all began to cast weary glances around the village. Avoiding his gaze. They knew something. He looked at Gobber out of the corner of his eye. The mutilated man was staring at the riders before him forlornly, and Stoic had known him too long to discredit a look like that.

"Why don't we all go inside? I'll see if there are some drinks or food and you all can tell me how you rid us of the Outcasts," Stoic invited warmly, a plan hatching in his head.

Not only did he need to make sure that his village was safe, but he also wanted to put off his search for his son's body for as long as possible. He could only hope that Toothless would show up before he had to go hunt him down as well.

The small party began to follow Stoic towards his house, which had surprisingly escaped the fight relatively unscathed. The roof was burnt and crushed in places, blackened beams jutted out into the too-blue sky at awkward angles, but the house was otherwise fine. Many of the other villagers had not been as lucky, and they could be seen darting through the village scavenging and looking for people who would open their homes for a time.

Gobber pushed open the door to the Chief's house gently, almost as if he were afraid it would fall off its hinges, and ushered everyone inside. Everyone sat quietly around the table without being told, and Stoic began to bumble about the kitchen looking for mugs and water skins. Triumphantly emerging from another room, he slapped the items on the table- an unspoken invitation for the riders to help themselves.

He lowered himself heavily into the large, oaken chair and stared down the parched teens and Gobber as they filled their mugs. Leaning back, he crossed his beefy arms and sighed as if to say 'I'm waiting'. Astrid looked up and elbowed Snotlout. She and Fishlegs exchanged worried looks over the table before an unspoken agreement seemed to be reached. Astrid would be their spokesperson.

"So how did you get rid of the Outcasts?" Stoic finally asked.

"Well it was all Hi- I mean Gobber's plan," Astrid started while Stoic raised a surprised eyebrow, "It was genius! So we used Snotlout and Fishlegs and their dragons as bait. It was actually really funny…,"

Outcasts cackled around a campfire in the early morning cold. Shadows still lurked in corners despite the rising sun, and the woods were dark and intimidating. Not a single Outcast ventured near them for fear of what might lurk within, and their wild tales of monsters told late at night certainly didn't help.

"Oi, mate, do you feel like someone's watching you?" a particularly hairy Outcast sporting an eye patch asked his equally grizzly friend.

"You're just imagining things, you dolt," replied the man, but privately he cast a wary eye out towards the trees.

Just for a moment, he thought he saw a pair of glimmering eyes staring back at him, but with a blink they were gone. With a disgruntled shiver, he turned back to the circle dismissing it as a trick of the light.

However, within the woods, just beyond the Outcasts range of sight sat two dragons, and two boys. A long, lithe red dragon with wickedly sharp fangs sticking out of its mouth and over its lip sat next to a Viking covered in muscles and arrogance. A small, dumpy dragon sat contentedly next to his tall but heavy-set Viking rider. The four lay in near silence in the dark of the trees until the sun peeked over the trees and the world began to brighten a little.

The boys suddenly exchanged glances, and with a nod, they began to run towards the Outcast camp as fast as they could. Breaking out of the trees, the two skidded to a stop and stared down the circle of Outcasts with equal parts terror and determination. All the Outcasts turned to look at them, and there was absolute silence as everyone froze and stared at one another.

Then all hell broke loose.

"Hey, stupid!" Snotlout yelled boldly before his courage failed him.

An Outcast pointed to himself in confusion, his heavy dreadlocks, with pieces of bone and shell weaved in for added affect, shaking about his head.

"No, not you, the ugly, one!" Snotlout yelled out again.

An absolutely hideous Outcast with scars riddling his entire body, one of which left his face in a permanent snarl, stood up and stared Snotlout down.

"Are you talking to me?" he hissed, his eyes narrowing and cracking his knuckles.

"No, he was talking to your mom!" Fishlegs said lamely.

Snotlout stared at Fishlegs as if he were the biggest idiot he'd ever met in his life, but the insult- if one could call it that- did the trick and suddenly the Outcasts surged forward towards the boys, led by Ugly.

"Um, Snotlout?" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Run, you fool!" Snotlout called over his shoulder as he sprinted towards the trees.

"Right behind you!" Fishlegs screamed over the roars of the Outcasts.

The boys darted through the trees dodging knives, sticks, arrows, and rocks as they ran desperately towards their dragons.

"Meatlug, come here, little lady, it's time to get going!" Fishlegs called, dodging yet another flying object hurled by the furious Outcasts behind him.

"Hookfang, get your butt over here!" Snotlout yelled, not nearly as sweetly, to his much more deadly dragon.

Both came running, their tails curling in excitement. The boys vaulted onto their dragons and took off, still dodging objects from the Outcasts the entire way. Fishlegs stared at Snotlout, his eyes wide.

"I can't believe it worked!" he exclaimed as the soared just high enough above the tree tops that the Outcasts kept following them.

"Don't speak too soon. We still need to get them to the cliff," Snotlout shouted over the wind.

The Outcasts, oblivious to their impending doom, chased after the riders angrily as the two continued to taunt them, and Hookfang and Meatlug sent down "gifts". Angry shouts from the Outcasts echoed up to them and Snotlout laughed.

"Hiccup was right! This is great!" he said excitedly.

However, at the mention of their friend the joyful mood ended.

"I hope everything is going well back there," Fishlegs said quietly.

Snotlout nodded in agreement. The four companions flew towards the cliff at the edge of Burke, steeling themselves for the fight that was about to come.

Astrid, Gobber, Hiccup, and the twins stood around the smoldering campfire. No one said a word. To say something was to acknowledge what was about to happen, and no one wanted to be the first to do it. Finally, Hiccup clapped his hands together and looked around at his friends.

"Alright, let's get going. Twins, you stay here until the sun is about that high," Hiccup said, pointing towards the sky," and good luck. Gobber, Astrid, are you guys ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Astrid replied with a half-grin.

After a few muttered 'goodbyes', Astrid, Gobber, and Hiccup took off into the woods toward the Outcast camp. With any luck, Snotlout and Fishlegs had already cleared it and this would be an easy job. Astrid's job was to give the villagers a heads up to the upcoming liberation while Gobber and Hiccup went down to the docks and unmoored the ships. The Outcasts would be trapped on the island, and after that it would be a scavenger hunt to find all the others.

Walking through the tall trees, no one said a word. An uneasy silence hung over them with a certain finality- they all knew this was the end of the line. Eventually, the time came for them to split up. They turned to face each other and say goodbye when suddenly a ragged and exhausted looking Outcast came flying out of the trees. He skidded to halt and tried to appear menacing as he stared them down, but his façade fell apart the moment he saw Hiccup.

"You- you died! You got hit by a dragon!" he stuttered out.

"Ya, ya. We already established this. Let's just skip to the part you try to kill us, shall we?" Hiccup replied snidely.

Gobber chuckled then blanched for a moment as the Outcast charged.

"I didn't think he'd actually listen to ya," he muttered in annoyance.

The three split, Astrid ending up across the clearing with Gobber and Hiccup alone. The Outcast stood between the three of them, conflicted as to who to kill first. He stood stupidly in the center of the clearing with a club raised above his head- slightly resembling a cave man.

"You guys go, I'll take care of bozo and the cave," Hiccup called, already breaking towards the Outcast.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed as Gobber pulled her away.

"I'll be fine, go!" he called back as they disappeared into the forest.

Gobber and Astrid took off through the trees, and the Outcast started to follow them until a rock slammed into the back of his head. He whirled around to face his assailant, who stood nervously on the fringes of the clearing, half-bent towards the ground, reaching for another pebble. Growling, he ran towards Hiccup, only to be hit in the head by a larger rock and knocked over. Groaning, he started to get up only to be pushed back into the dirt by a metal foot.

"I'm really sorry that I'm not sorry about this," Hiccup rushed out before slamming the man with a large branch.

The huge brute's head lolled to the side, and he went limp. Hiccup stood and surveyed the surrounding area; there didn't appear to be anymore outcasts. He dropped the stick, wiped his hands on his vest, and started towards the former Outcast camp. As he walked through the trees, he tried to plan what exactly it was he had to do. He had to warn them. Somehow.

Eventually, he made it to the camp, and the deserted camp fire and scattered utensils told a story of ambush and characteristic Outcast anger. Judging by the stampeded grass and muddy footprints leading into the forest, Snotlout and Fishlegs had played their part well. Moving his gaze across the camp to the sealed off cave, anger began to well up inside Hiccup.

How dare the Outcasts lock up his family and friends in there. _How dare they. _He stormed towards the cave before pausing. He couldn't very well just walk in; that'd be a disaster. He looked over the craggy rock face, and his eyes alighted on what could be- if he squinted- a path to the top. He decided to take the chance and scrambled up the side of the rock. On top, grass and flowers dotted it sparsely before gradually transforming back into forest. A small hole in the ground appeared to open into the cave below, and he quickly walked over and knelt beside it.

Peering inside, he saw everyone from the village- well, mostly everyone- milling about below him. His heart broke when he saw his father sitting forlorn and alone against the wall, his face expressionless. Stoic the Vast had been reduced to a meek and broken man, and that just couldn't be. Hiccup, feeling like a fool, stuck his face inside the hole. Complete darkness overtook him, and relief flooded him as he realized that no one would be able to see him.

"Is anybody in there? I don't want you to miss the fun!"he called down, an invisible grin flashing across his face as confused whispers erupted below him.

"Alright, who is that? Who's there?" came the unmistakable and furious reply from Stoic.

"Oh, so you are in there. That's good. Okay, so the plan is that the twins are going to push the stone from in front of the door and you guys are all gonna run out. Snotlout, Astrid, Gobber, and Fishlegs are keeping the Outcasts busy. Don't worry about them. When you leave the cave, follow the twins back to the village. I know, following them seems stupid, but it's the only option.

"Are we all on the same page?" he replied, electing to ignore his father; he didn't need to know he was still here- he just needed to think Hiccup was a ghost or something. That would work.

"Who are ya?" Stoic roared back angrily; Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter! Do you understand the plan?"

A few 'ayes' and one incredibly enthusiastic 'yes' responded. Chuckling, Hiccup stood. He could barely hear the shouts of his father echoing up from the hole, but eventually those stopped too. He walked back down the side of the hill and began to make his way towards the docks- his original destination. He hadn't gone very far when Snotlout and Fishlegs landed heavily in front of him, their dragons grumbling.

"Where's Astrid?" Fishlegs asked worriedly as he stared down at Hiccup.

"Change of plans. She's over with Gobber at the dock unmooring the boats," Hiccup explained as Snotlout hauled him up onto Hookfang.

"Shit," Snotlout hissed.

"What? What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, thoroughly lost.

Snotlout and Fishlegs remained silent for a moment as they coaxed their dragons into the sky. The wing beats and rushing wind began to stabilize as they soared high above the island towards the docks. Finally, Snotlout turned around to face Hiccup, his face tense.

"We only got about half the Outcasts. The others caught on and headed for the boats wanting to get off the island. We didn't think it was that bad until we remembered you and Gobber were down there, but now it's Astrid and Gobber down there…," Snotlout trailed off, ending his stream of consciousness.

Hiccup understood the unspoken message and nodded along. _You don't have that long anyway so I wasn't really worried. Astrid has her whole life ahead of her. _

They sped towards the docks, the sounds of fighting growing louder as they came closer. A quick scan of the fight showed that while Astrid and Gobber were severely outnumbered, they were holding their own. The two were backed against the mooring of a large ship, and Outcasts completely surrounded them. Stormfly had appeared at some point and was doing her best to protect her rider and Gobber, but there were just too many Outcasts. No matter how many she knocked into the harbor, they just kept coming, sopping wet, but they came nonetheless.

The riders landed on the pier, and the Outcasts scattered. The chaos that had been on the docks just moments before was now deserted. The Outcasts had completely abandoned their quest for revenge the moment the other dragons landed heavily on the pier.

"Get on!" Snotlout exclaimed, reaching a hand out towards Astrid.

The two Vikings raced over to the dragon riders and hopped onto their backs. Astrid hugged Hiccup excitedly, wrapping her lean arms around him and holding tight.

"I thought you were going to be gone! What are you still doing here?" she asked, then pulled back and punched him, "That was for leaving me."

"We still need to find Alvin, but after that I have to go," Hiccup said forlornly, watching his best friend's face crumple.

"Can we just not find Alvin and have you chill with us for a bit?" Snotlout asked, trying and failing to look like he didn't care.

Hiccup shook his head. They rode in silence for a bit, but Gobber and Fishlegs chatted away on Meatlug. Hiccup stared off into the clouds, then down at Berk, deep in thought. The grassy, green hills rolled into the dramatic cliffs that plummeted towards the sea. The forest loomed above the village, and sheep were hurriedly making their way into the village, darting in every direction and entering houses. Suddenly, Hiccup realized that those weren't sheep.

"Guys! Look!" he exclaimed, pointing excitedly towards the freed villagers who were now returning home.

"The twins did it!" Snotlout gasped, actually surprised that the two village idiots had accomplished something.

Astrid simply cheered. She stretched her arms out and threw her head back laughing, relief flooding her. All their work had paid off- the villagers were safe, and they were home. The Outcasts had left, and the only thing left to do was find Alvin.

"I have an idea," Hiccup said suddenly, turning back to the dragon riders, "I go find and get rid of Alvin, and you guys go into the village and make sure everything's okay."

"What? No! We're not leaving you," Astrid said angrily.

"It'd be better if I just took care of Alvin and went on my way. You guys should go home," Hiccup argued.

"He has a point, Astrid," Snotlout said, steering the dragon towards the village.

"Don't say that! And you can't land in the middle of the village with a dead guy on your dragon's back!" Astrid exclaimed.

"See? Dead guy. It's better to just drop me off with Alvin," Hiccup pointed out.

"No! That's not what I meant," Astrid protested.

"Yes, it is. I'm gone, Astrid. Time to let go," Hiccup said gently.

She opened her mouth to argue, but Fishlegs shouted from Meatlug, pointing towards the cave which had just become visible again as they circled the island.

"I see Alvin! He's over there," Fishlegs shouted.

Immediately, Hookfang jerked in the direction of Alvin, his wings beating furiously. Astrid was yelling angrily at Hiccup's back, but Hiccup leaned forward over Snotlout's shoulder.

"Look, I want you to fly low, but only low enough for me to jump off. Then I want you to go as high as you can. Don't look back. Don't come back. You got it?" he whispered, his voice barely carrying over the roaring wind.

Snotlout merely nodded. He didn't trust his voice as they approached what he knew was the end. He was losing a friend today, whether he liked it or not, and there wasn't much he could do about it.

As they approached the cave, Snotlout motioned Meatlug over to tell Fishlegs the plan. After a few moments of hurried speech and a few worried glances, Fishlegs and Gobber moved away, neither of them looking particularly happy. Snotlout started to descend, Alvin looking completely oblivious to the approaching danger before disappearing into the trees.

Suddenly, Hiccup threw himself off the side of the dragon, much to Astrid's surprise.

"Snotlout! Go back down! What are you doing?" she exclaimed as the dragon began to climb back into the sky.

"Astrid…," Snotlout huffed.

"Go back down! Go back down! Why are you doing this?" she screamed at him, even though she knew full well whose idea this had been and what was going on.

"Then we came here," Astrid finished, her eyes not meeting the chiefs.

She had managed to explain the whole story with no mention of Hiccup- at least she had tried. There had been a few slip ups, but the chief hadn't seemed to notice and Snotlout and Gobber always covered for her.

She chugged down the rest of her flagon of water, halting any further questions for a time. Stoic stared her down skeptically; he knew something was missing, and a question was still unanswered- _where was Alvin?_

Stoic opened his wide mouth, beard bristling, and asked the all-important question just as the door to the house flew open with a bang, announcing the arrival of the twins.

"Where's Alvin now?" Stoic asked, eyeing the twins warily as the stumbled clumsily into his house.

"Oh, he's with Hiccup," Ruffnut answered thoughtlessly before realizing her blunder.

"She means he's… um… passed on," Astrid tried desperately to salvage the situation as Ruffnut stared in terror at the furious Snotlout.

However the damage had already been done, and Stoic rose from the table, his eyes narrowing and his muscles flexing intimidatingly.

"That's not the first time you've said something like that. _Where is my son?_" he growled, ideas already forming in his mind.

"Stoic, why don't you sit down, it's been a long week. You know as well as I do that the boy's gone," Gobber urged gently, trying to coax his old friend back into the seat.

"No! I'm not senile. You all have until the count of three to tell me what's going on or so help me I will arrest the lot of you!" Stoic yelled angrily, his intense gaze searching each rider's face; he was met with silence, "One…"

"No, really, Chief, he's gone! She didn't mean it!" Snotlout exclaimed, all the while silently cursing Tuffnut.

"Two…"

"Stoic, this is madness! What are you doing? These kids saved you," Gobber attempted to reason the man, but Stoic was too far gone.

"Thr-"he didn't get to finish as Fishlegs cut him off.

"Stop! Hiccup was with us. You're right," Fishlegs whimpered, chorused by a collective defeated sigh from the others.

Stoic turned his furious gaze towards Fishlegs. He began to inch his way around the table towards the boy until the bristles of his red beard were nearly in the chubby teen's face.

"What was that?" Stoic growled, hardly daring to believe his ears.

"I said, Hiccup was with us," Fishlegs eked out, his eyes wide.

Stoic sank slowly into the seat beside Fishlegs, passing an enormous, scarred hand over his face. Finally he turned to all the riders in turn, his gaze finally landing on his best friend.

"Gobber, did you know?" he sighed, his mind still trying to comprehend what was going on- _his son was alive. _

"Not at first," the Viking admitted, "but after I escaped the Outcasts I ran into Astrid and Snotlout and when they brought me back to camp, there he was, right as rain."

"Where is he now?" Stoic exclaimed suddenly, sitting up straight in his chair.

"Well that's the thing now, isn't it?" Gobber replied soberly.

"You said he was with Alvin…," Stoic trailed off before standing up suddenly, "He's with Alvin! We have to get him! Help him! What were you thinking?"

Stoic began to rush out the door when he suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was going, nor how to help his son. He turned around, only to find Gobber reaching out, almost as if to stop him. Stoic looked at his friend in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at Gobber's outstretched hand, which was quickly retracted.

"There's more that you need to know," he said lowly.

"What? You can tell me on the way. We have to go get him," Stoic insisted, "Come along."

No one moved.

"What's wrong with the lot of you?" Stoic asked, growing worried as he noticed Astrid's heartbroken face.

"It's complicated, Stoic," Gobber tried to explain, but the chief would hear none of it.

"Astrid. Explain," he instructed, not trusting the others in the moment.

"He… he was dead, sir. He made a deal with Death so he could save the village. Today was the last day, and… he did what he needed to. We never could have done it without him, but he's going now," she rushed out, holding back tears as the words solidified what they had all already known.

"I don't understand," Stoic said, staring down the girl.

"The boy may already be gone, Stoic. There's no reason to get hurt more than you already have been. He didn't want you to know _because _he didn't want to hurt you," Gobber tried again to reason with the chief, but he would hear none of it.

"Is there a chance he's still here?" Stoic asked simply, a sudden swell of strength lifting up the previously brow-beaten man.

"Well, yes, I guess there is," Snotlout answered, much to everyone's surprise.

"Then I'm going to find him. Anyone coming?" Stoic called over his shoulder as he left the house.

The house was emptier faster than Trader Johann's boat on trade day.

Hiccup chased Alvin through the woods. Now that there was no one for the man to hide behind, he was fleeing as fast as he could like the coward he was. He had a large sword, but he wasn't about to use it. It was mostly for show, the man hadn't actually used it in combat for quite some time- and so he ran.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, his metal foot made running quickly difficult, and the pain in his ankle was only growing worse. He knew what that meant as other aches and pains had slowly started to return to his body- most alarming was the sharp pain growing in his neck.

Eventually, Alvin had gone as far as he could, the sheer face of a cliff stopping him in his tracks. He spun around, only to be confronted by none other than the very dragon rider he had started this whole fiasco to capture. Alvin's face drained of color as he came face to face with the boy. He raised his hands in front of him, his sword quaking feebly in his hand. His dreadlocks shook around his face as quivered, staring down the rider.

"Please, please, your village is safe. Just let me leave. Leave me be," he whined, his eyes wide as he stared down Hiccup.

He retreated until his back was pressed up against the cliff's face, his breathing coming raggedly.

"Spirit! Spirit be gone! Back to Valhalla with you!" he screeched, his voice rising to an astonishing pitch.

"Sorry, but I'm not quite finished here yet," Hiccup said with a vicious grin, stepping towards the Outcast leader.

"No, please, I'll leave! I'll leave!" he screamed, sweat beading his brow as he cowered in fear.

The "ghost" paused for a moment, considering the man's offer. Hiccup never wanted to kill another man. That was something he had never wished to do, no matter how horrible he was. Hiccup had always believed there was another option. Finally, he eyed the crazed Outcast leader.

"If I let you live, do you promise to leave and never return?" Hiccup mused, and Alvin shivered as he felt the piercing green eyes stare at his very soul.

"Yes, yes of course!" he sighed, relief flooding his adrenaline charged body.

"Do you swear, by threat of death and damnation from Thor himself that you will not come back?" Hiccup urged, needing a more binding oath.

"Yes!" the pitiful creature before him screeched.

"Then get out of here," Hiccup instructed, stepping aside and gesturing towards the forest.

"What?" Alvin asked in confusion.

"Leave now. Unless you'd rather join me in the afterlife," Hiccup added menacingly.

The Outcast took off into the darkness without a word. Hiccup stared resolutely after him until he was out of sight then sank to the ground, his back against the cliff's wall for support. He was exhausted. Everything hurt, his neck especially and it was growing worse with every passing minute. It was also becoming harder and harder to move. He shut his eyes for a moment and pushed his head back. It couldn't have been for more than a few moments, but when he opened his eyes, the sun was setting.

He stood up, and found that he could now move relatively easily. Confused, he looked back down where he had been sitting, only to find that he was still there. So here it was- he was gone.

He sighed, and began to pace the small gorge-like area he had found himself in. He turned and stared up the cliff and noticed the large trees hanging precariously on the edge, their tangled roots sticking off the edge at weird angles. There was a kind of beauty to the mess. A feeling of strength, age, and timelessness. He turned back around to look out into the forest only to find himself face to face with the cloaked figure who had become far too familiar.

"Can ya give a guy a warning?" he exclaimed, jumping backwards.

The figure chuckled, a deep, throaty laugh that rustled the seemingly intangible dark fabric of his hood.

"I guess it's 'my time' and all that mess, right?" Hiccup said with a sheepish smile.

"Something like that. Though if I had to judge, I would say I am a bit late," he croaked in his ancient, dusty voice and gesturing towards Hiccup's limp body, "I'm sorry for the delay."

"Oh, no problem. I was just looking around," Hiccup replied awkwardly; how exactly does one carry on a conversation with Death?

"I trust you finished your task?" Death asked, seemingly curious.

"Yes, I did. My village is safe," he assured the figure.

"It's a beautiful sunset tonight," Death remarked, staring up at the sky that had been dyed pink and orange by the setting sun.

"Yes," Hiccup agreed, not sure how to reply.

"So what do you think waits for you on the Other Side?" he asked, still staring at the sky; he waved a hand and a black cloud suddenly began to drift lazily across the otherwise clear sky.

"I'm not sure. My mother, I guess," Hiccup explained; he hadn't given the subject much thought.

"Well, then I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting, should we?" Death said finally, turning away from the sky and towards the cliff.

He walked- no _glided_\- over the green grass, leaving brittle, dead stalks in his wake. As he approached the face, he raised his staff and knocked it three times against the weathered stone- each time with a resounding, echoing _bang_. A small, pinprick of light appeared at the point of impact, then swirled outwards, tendrils of light expanding, twirling, and stretching. Within a few moments, a wall of bright light occupied a part of the face roughly the size and shape of a door.

Death turned and stretched a skeletal hand out to Hiccup.

"Well, are you coming, boy?" he intoned, his figure still shaded despite the nearly blinding light.

"Yes, just a moment," Hiccup said, turning to look one last time at his home.

Fighting the tears that threatened to fall, Hiccup thought of all the good times he had here. How many times had he run through these woods as a child? How many times had he ridden his dragon, his best friend, over this island? He thought of his countless days surrounded by friends he considered more as family at the dragon training academy, and the innumerable adventures they had been on- and the impossible amount of trouble they had managed to get into. He smiled a bittersweet goodbye to his home and turned away.

He met Death in the door, their figures silhouetted against the light, and as he turned to face forever he heard one last word carried through the light as if on a breeze. A voice so familiar, a voice he had known since he was a child, and a voice he would never hear again, the voice of his father.

"…Hiccup?"


End file.
